Strawberry plant called `Sweet Charlie`

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct strawberry variety which originated from seed produced by a hand-pollinated cross between FL 80-456 and Pajaro, is provided. The new strawberry is distinguished by its earliness of production, its cupped leaves, its reponse to pests, and its sweet fruit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A new and distinct variety of strawberry originated from a handpollinated cross of FL 80-456, an anthracnose-resistant (Colletotrichumspp.) clone, and Pajaro (a 1980 strawberry release from the Universityof California) and has been asexually propagated by runners at theUniversity of Florida, Agricultural Research and Education Center,Dover, Fla. The seeds resulting from the controlled hybridization weregerminated in a greenhouse and the resulting seedlings were planted andallowed to produce daughter plants (by asexual propagation). Twodaughter plants from each seedling were transplanted to raised beds.These plants later fruited and one pair was selected from itsoutstanding fruit quality and high yield. The new variety, FL 85-4925,has been asexually propagated by runners annually and further testplantings have established that during asexual multiplication, thevegetative and fruit characteristics of the original plants aremaintained. The new strawberry, called "Sweet Charlie", is distinguishedby its earliness of producing its cupped leaves, its response to pests,and its sweet fruit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the fruit andleaves of the new variety in color.

FIG. 1 is a photograph of the present strawberry plant; and

FIG. 2 is a photograph of pieces of fruit from the present strawberryplant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

The following is a detailed description of the pomologicalcharacteristics of the subject strawberry. Where dimensions, sizes,colors, and other characteristics are given, it is to be understood thatsuch characteristics are approximations of averages set forth asaccurately as practicable. The pedigree of the present strawberry (FL85-4925) is from a cross of FL 80-456, an anthracnose-resistant cloneand Pajaro, a 1980 strawberry release from the University of California,which is extremely susceptible to anthracnose fruit rot. FL 80-456 is across between FL 77-163 and FL 78-1832. FL 78-1832 is a cross betweenDover and LA-2556. Pajaro is a cross between Sequoia and 63.7-101.

The description reported herein is from specimens grown at Dover, Fla.

Type: Short day The strawberry is described as an early fruitingshort-day type because it produces fruit earlier in the season (i.e.,from December through February) than does the Pajaro or Oso Grandestrawberries.

Size: Medium (smaller and more compact than Oso Grande). The plants aremeasured in a fruiting field in May range in height from 19 to 26 cm,and width from 29 to 42 cm.

Productivity: Medium-high (22-34 MT/ha) The seasonal fruit yield(overall productivity) is generally less than that of Oso Grandestrawberry. The strawberry has been a good plant-maker (stolen producer)in the nursery (similar to Oso Grande), yet tends to produce fewerstolens than Oso Grande in the fruit production field, a desirablecharacteristic. Runner control, by pruning, is required to maximizeproductivity. This strawberry is not adapted for mechanical harvest.

Leaves: Petioles range in length from 75 to 100 mm and are stiff withnumerous hairs. Leaflets are generally cupped, medium to dark green(L*=31.4, a*=4.7, b*=5.4 [L*a*b* color notation system]) (Munsell 7.56Y3/1), semiglossy, scabrous, and obovate. The central leaflet has anobtuse base while the side leaflets have oblique bases. The length ofmature leaflets varies from 58 to 80 mm; the width from 65 to 78 mm.Leaflet margins are rounded dentate, with 21 to 23 serrations perleaflet. The bottom of the leaves are yellow green, Munsell 5GY 5/3).

Flowers and fruit: Flowers open at or below canopy height. Pedicelsattached to mature primary fruit are 100 to 130 mm long, with branchingof the inflorescence usually occurring very close to the crown. Primaryfruit are generally wedge shaped; secondary and later fruit are conicalto wedge shaped. External fruit color is orange red (L*=36.2, a*=30.3,and b*=43.6); internal color is orange streaked with white. The skincolor of the fruit is more orange (Munsell 5YR 4/10) than is that ofPajaro, Oso Grande, or Grace strawberries. The achenes are greenishyellow and slightly recessed. Calyx lobes are 20 to 25 mm long andcoarsely serrated. Ripe fruit are firm, similar to Oso Grande, have avitamin C concentration of 53 mg/100 g FW, and an average berry weightof 17 g. The fruit has a distinctively sweet flavor due to a relativelyhigh sugar/acid ratio. Typical dimensions of the berries harvested inmid March are 5.0 cm length and 4.3 cm breadth for primary fruit, and4.3 cm length and 3.6 cm breadth for secondary fruit. The fruit has atendency to show bruises after precooling more readily than does OsoGrande, and, for this reason, may not be suitable for long distanceshipment. The plant is resistant to anthracnose fruit rot which contrastto Pajaro which is extremely susceptible to anthracnose fruit rot.

Pest responses: Moderate resistance to anthracnose crown and fruit rot,powdery mildew, and twospotted spider mite; susceptible to Botrytisfruit rot and Phomopsis leaf blight. The plant appears to be highlyresistant to anthracnose fruit rot caused by C. acutatum Simmonds. Thestrawberry is more resistant to anthracnose crown and fruit rot, butless resistant to Phomopsis fruit rot, than is Pajaro or Oso Grande.

Asexual reproduction: The plant has been asexually reproduced primarilyby rooting of cuttings but has been reproduced by budding. Therecommended planting date is early to mid October. Plants start toflower in early to mid November, and the harvest season generally lastsfrom early December until early April.

Distinctive features: The most distinctive features of the variety areits earliness of production (for a short day type), its anthracnosecrown and fruit rot resistance, and the sweet flavor of its fruit.

DNA comparison: A comparison of three varieties of strawberries, SweetCharlie, Pajaro, and Oso Grande using the United States Dept. ofAgricultures RAPD protocol was made for a comparison of the varieties atthe DNA level. Different banding patterns indicated the difference inDNA sequences using two different primers (#564 and #534 from theUniversity of British Columbia). The three varieties yielded distinct,easily distinguishable DNA fragments.

Table I below shows a comparison of postharvest composition and qualityof several strawberry cultivars. Sweet Charlie is compared with OsoGrande and Selva for ascorbic acid levels, percent of soluble solids,percent of titratable acids, pH and texture before storage and againafter one week storage at 7° C.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        Comparison of postharvest composition                                         and quality of several strawberry cultivars.                                                 mg/100 g % FW  % FW                                                   %       FW       Sol-  Titrat-      Tex-                                      FW      Ascorbic uble  able         ture                               Cultivar                                                                             Loss    Acid     Solids                                                                              Acid   pH    (N)                                ______________________________________                                        Before                                                                        Storage                                                                       Sweet          52.63 a.sup.y                                                                          7.0 a 0.664 b                                                                              3.58 a                                                                               7.25 b                            Charlie                                                                       Oso            34.43 b  4.6 c 0.690 a                                                                              3.63 a                                                                               8.13 b                            Grande                                                                        Selva          40.23 b  6.0 b 0.984 a                                                                              3.49 b                                                                              10.99 a                            1 week                                                                        at 7° C.                                                               Sweet   7.76 a 56.43 a  6.7 a 0.651 b                                                                              3.75 a                                                                               6.93 b                            Charlie                                                                       Oso    12.05 a 40.46 b  5.3 b 0.846 ab                                                                             3.58 b                                                                               7.80 b                            Grande                                                                        Selva   9.96 a 44.03 b  5.9 b 0.965 a                                                                              3.61 b                                                                              10.20 a                            ______________________________________                                         .sup.y Mean separation within columns by Duncan's multiple range test, P      0.05.                                                                    

Table II shows the yield and average fruit size of several strawberrycultivars and compares Sweet Charlie with Oso Grande, Pajaro and Selvaas to marketable yield, cull yield, and as to size.

                  TABLE 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        Yield and average fruit size of                                               several strawberry cultivars at AREC-Dover..sup.zy                            ______________________________________                                                  Marketable yield                                                              (flats/acre).sup.x                                                  Cultivars   87-88       89-90   90-91                                         ______________________________________                                        Sweet Charlie                                                                             3157a       1755b    530ab.sup.w                                  Oso Grande  --          2301a   421b                                          Pajaro      2509b       1129c   --                                            Selva       1964c       1615b   596a                                          ______________________________________                                                  Cull yield                                                                    (flats/acre)                                                        Cultivars   87-88       89-90   90-91                                         ______________________________________                                        Sweet Charlie                                                                             665a        561a     90b                                          Oso Grande  --          826a     52b                                          Pajaro      632a        583a    --                                            Selva       393b        452a    151a                                          ______________________________________                                                  Size                                                                          (g/fruit)                                                           Cultivars   87-88       89-90   90-91                                         ______________________________________                                        Sweet Charlie                                                                             17a         16c     20a                                           Oso Grande  --          20a     19a                                           Pajaro      17a         18b     --                                            Selva       15b         15c     14b                                           ______________________________________                                         .sup.z This data was taken from Albregts et al. 1989 and 1990 and Chandle     et al. 1992.                                                                  .sup.y Mean separation within columns by Duncan's multiple range test, P      0.05.                                                                         .sup.x One flat = 4.65 kg.                                               

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct variety of strawberry plant,substantially as illustrated and described, characterized by itsearliness of production, disease resistance, and the sweet flavor of itsfruit.